Cats

The cat, also called the domestic cat or house cat, is a small feline carnivorous mammal of the subspecies Felis silvestris catus. Its most immediate pre-domestication ancestor is believed to be the African wild cat, Felis silvestris lybica. more...

The cat has been living in close association with humans for between 3,500 and 8,000 years.

There are dozens of breeds of cats, some hairless or tailless, and they exist in a variety of different colors. They are skilled predators and have been known to hunt over one thousand different species for food. They are also intelligent animals, and some can either be trained or learn by themselves to manipulate simple mechanisms such as lever-handled doors and flush toilets.

They communicate by calling ("meow"/"miaou"), purring, hissing, growling, and body language. Cats in colonies use a mix of vocalizations and body language to communicate with each other.

Because the domestication of the cat is relatively recent, cats may also still live effectively in the wild, often forming small colonies. The cat's association with humans leads it to figure prominently in the mythology and legends of several cultures, including those of the ancient Egyptians, ancient Chinese, and Norse.

Nomenclature

A group of cats is referred to as a clowder, while a male cat is called a tom, and a female is called a queen. An immature cat is called a kitten (which is also an alternate name for young rats, rabbits, hedgehogs, beavers, and squirrels). In medieval Britain, the word kitten was interchangeable with the word catling. A cat whose ancestry is formally registered is called a pedigree cat, purebred cat, or a show cat (although not all show cats are pedigree or purebred). In strict terms, a purebred cat is one whose ancestry contains only individuals of the same breed. A pedigree cat is one whose ancestry is recorded, but may have ancestors of different breeds (almost exclusively new breeds; cat registries are very strict about which breeds can be mated together). Cats of mixed ancestry are referred to as domestic longhairs and domestic shorthairs or commonly as random-bred, moggies, mongrels, mutt-cats or alley cats. The ratio of pedigree/purebred cats to random-bred cats varies from country to country. However, generally speaking, purebreds are less than ten percent of the total feline population (ASPCA Complete Guide to Cats by James R. Richards, DVM).

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